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Thyrendi
The Thyrendi are a race of aliens from the planet Thyrenda, who are part of the Coalition. UNE nickname: "Goblins" All dates are given in Earth reckoning for UNE readers. Physiology Compared to a human, the Thyrendi are tall, lanky, flexible, and fast-moving. Average height ranges from six feet to almost eight. Eyes are usually red and crowned with eyebrow ridges, and the face, though vaguely human, lacks a nose. A notable feature is the Thyrendi's ability to sense heat. Deep pits on either side of their head, on the cheeks, allow them to detect heat changes and effectively see in infrared. They are bipedal and digitigrade (walk on their toes). Thyrendi are endothermic (warm-blooded), though they lack hair or substantial natural fat layers. They commonly wear furs to remain comfortable in cooler weather, as well as a status symbol. Society The Thyrendi live in a loosely class-based society. While there are defined classes, upwards mobility is not only possible, but encouraged. Thyrendi mate for life, forming an extremely close bond between partners known as an "akati" (sing. akato). An akati is often referred to as a single entity. Religion The Thyrendi are a strongly religious civilization. They believe in three pantheons, whose histories are all more-or-less intertwined. And also in the Zaian faith, for mostly political reasons. History Evolution They evolved in a cool, temperate forest, where they hunted or foraged for food nocturnally. They developed long, powerful legs to chase down prey such as not-deer through the forest, before tackling and throttling them. Several million years ago, an ice age enveloped much of Thyrenda, and the Thyrendi were forced to adapt to survive. They began to use sharp rocks to aid in killing larger prey. Over time, they learned to sharpen certain rocks, then began to fashion specialized knives. Their long legs still made it easy to catch most of their prey, but knives and the like made it possible to kill much larger and more ferocious animals. As they were able to catch fuzzier animals, meanwhile, they were able to wear furs and other clothing to conserve heat during the long winters, allowing more energy to be devoted to other matters than simple survival. First Civilizations (over 15,000 BC) The Thyrendi had always lived and hunted in small packs, which ranged over a wide area. These tribes were ruled by an alpha male and an alpha female, who held equal power, and were together known as a tapekati. (~10,000 BC) WIth cooling global climate, the use of weapons spread and successful tribes grew larger and more powerful, merging or overcoming smaller tribes. Eventually, it grew more efficient for a tribe to establish a semi-permanent camp from which to hunt than to remain nomadic, and thus the first temporary villages were formed. Cities (~9,000 BC) However, due to the nature of Thyrendi warfare, most cities never developed the concept of fortifications. Traps were used occasionally, as was terrain, but walls were unknown. Towns grew large and untidy as a result, full of tents, huts, and cabins. The first farms date from this era, though only in the fertile southern regions. (~8,000 BC) The Thyrendi see massive auroras streaming across the sky, and a few weeks later a Coalition warship inexplicably crashes into the middle of the ocean. Nobody thinks anything more of it for the next few milleniae. Nobody knows what happened, of course. Everyone just keeps living their lives, fighting for land and food, saying hi to the short shiny space-people who drop in every 1,900 years. (~7,000 BC) More advanced civilization begins to develop at several sites around the planet independantly. The first religious statuary dates from this era. (3,000 BC) The climate begins to warm again, at long last. Food supplies skyrocket, and civilization booms. Hookra, Susima, Tokrika, and Memfrita are the the first cities to surpass 10,000 inhabitants. The affluent begin to build upward on their city properties. Tokrika is the base for the first hereditary akati dynasty, and becomes the largest city in the world. Trade begins to flourish between cities. (2,600 BC) Akiti Broktai conquers Tokrika, and then conquers half the planet. Under his dynasty, Tokrika becomes not only a center of culture, but a center of power as well. (2,300 BC) The Thyrendi succeed in unpowered flight. While they can't actually keep themselves in the air, gliders combined with their powerful arms (and some convenient atmospheric quirks) allow relatively long flights of up to a minute. In fact, these new gliders are reliable enough that they are used in battles to launch warriors at the enemy. (2,200 BC) The Broktai dynasty is trounced and routed, and the Tokrika Empire largely sputters to a halt. (2,180 BC) The Broktai dynasty comes roaring back, and with the aid of a seriously large amount of diplomacy and promises, takes back the entire empire with interest. Those who plotted against them are executed and forgotten. Thyrenda learns not to mess with the Broktai. (1,700 BC) A Thyrendi merchant and inventor, uses chemical reactions to create a very rudimentary rocket engine, which he quickly uses to launch several apprentices through walls. Once he figures out how to control it properly, though, his innovation will change Thyrenda forever. (1,610 BC) The inventor's granddaughter figures out how to control it properly, and finally begins to change Thyrenda forever. But not just yet. The akati who rule her city confiscate her designs in order to use them militarily. The trouble is, the engine requires fuel which comes from other cities, and the akati refuse to listen to her protests. The granddaughter and her new akati flee to another city using the rockets and gliders, and arrive safely on the ground outside their city after a flight of almost a quarter-mile. Unfortunately, the other city does the exact same thing, and the designs largely die with their inventor. (1,500 BC) The jet-gliders are rediscovered and finally put into use. (1,400 BC) The Zaian New Faith comes to Thyrenda. And the Thyrendi are pretty unanimous they want nothing to do with it. They have their own gods. Then, six months later, the Zaian New Faith comes to Thyrenda with a few battleships. The Thyrendi realize that they actually do want to convert after all. (1,400 BC-78 AD) Everyone mostly leaves the Thyrendi alone. The Thyrendi get better and better at flight. Isolated from the rest of the galaxy (note that this is largely their own fault), they develop their own unique style- a blend of Tarsin glamor and their native flyers. In 78 AD, they establish a colony on Thyrenda's moon. Unfortunately.. (79 AD) The barbarians invade. They cause great damage to all, especially the ancient and weak city-states. The moon colony is presumed destroyed. (129 AD) Tokrika falls to the barbarians and is looted. The Broktai dynasty apparently collapses. (130 AD) Warriors from the 15 Free Cities retake Tokrika from the barbarians. Though the road to victory is still long indeed, this is a major turning point. (250 AD) The Thyrendi, with only incidental support from the beleagured Imperial Navy, soundly defeat a far superior barbarian fleet by luring them into the upper atmosphere where the Thyrendi flyers can reach them. This victory impresses both Tarsin and barbarian with the Thyrendi's newly discovered military prowess, and also nets Thyrendi engineers a substantial supply of damaged etherships to study and scavenge. Warfare If Drax and a kangaroo had a baby, it would be a Thyrendi footsoldier. Philosophy Unlike humans, the Thyrendi rarely hold grudges. Disputes and fights are usually resolved quickly and decisively. As soon as one side realizes it is inferior, it yields and is assimilated into the party of the other side. Therefore, the Thyrendi find the fighting and wars of the greater Coalition to be exceedingly illogical and pointless, when one side should have surrendured years ago. Therefore, the Thyrendi place great emphasis on speed, intimidation, and flashy kicks and movements. Early Tactics In the early days of Thyrendi civilization, in often-harsh conditions, chieftains had few members of their tribe to spare for a long war. Fights rarely lasted for longer than a minute. The two sides would barrel into each other, shrieking, using their long legs to kick or gain momentum for attacks, and slashing with their knives. As soon as one combatent recognized his immediate opponant's superiority, he would yield by sinking backwards onto his heels, effectlively immobilizing himself. Then, he would dutifully follow the victor into another skirmish along the battleline, temporarily fighting for the one who had defeated him, until his "team" had ammassed enough men to scare the other side into submission. Duels happened lightning-fast, and practically all combatants would switch sides at least once during a larger fight. This policy was used in everything from single combats to national wars. Everything from here on is incomplete. Akati Jdrai and Tokrika (2,900 BC) Over the next few milleniae, the power of certain tribes ebbed and flowed. However, no akati were able to ensure their line's power for more than few generations. This changed with the coming of the Akati Jdrai. This akati took control of Tokrik, one of the largest cities of Thyrenda at the time, at a young age. However, instead of setting out on wars to prove their authority, as was the custom, the Jdrai devoted their life to improving Tokrik. Trading between camps and cities had been going on for centuries unofficially, but without a strong tribe, traders were often shunned in regular society. the Jdrai changed that, offering traders honor and encouraging commerce with other cities. After many years of successful rule, the Jdrai abdictated in favor of their children, Akati Tikri, thus ensuring that their offspring would actually succeed them. Even more surprisingly, the Tikri was willing to abdictate to their children as well. WIth a semi-stable system of government at last, Tokrik began to truly thrive. However, the Jdrai would not be the akati remembered for founding Tokrik. Akati Brokiti As is the case with most success, Tokrik had made others envious. Despite raids and attempts at power, though, the Jdrai clan held onto Tokrik for almost 120 years. The city was taken in approximately Nothing lasts forever, though, especially not on the first draft. mebody went and conquered Tokrik. But he accepted the Tokrik principles, so everything turned out OK. Pa-Akri Kaha Tokapakake Pa-Akri Kaha Tokapakake (Great City-chieftain Rocky, in essence) was a tribal leader and warlord who lived in 1300 BC. Until very recently, he was widely regarded as one of the fathers of modern Thyrendi warfare. He realized that single combats were no way to fight a large-scale battle, which is what he saw most conflicts were turning into. Instead of facing his foes in this way, he led his tribe away from an expanding enemy army, and fortified a mountain pass. Behind the pass he had sufficient supplies to last for generations, but outside the army could not get through. The enemy tribe broke their strength in repeated attacks on the wall, to no avail, and finally they surrendured to Tokapakake from outside the wall. Over centuries, Tokapakake and his successors built up the inside of this coumpound, and through successful defenses, and even more successful propaganda tours, increased their numbers. Pa-Akri Hekonagwa Nevertheless, Tokapakake was still eager to display his success, and invited too many foreign chieftains to view his city. One of them, named Hekonagwa, though not otherwise at all noteworthy, seems to have possessed a remarkable degree of self-confidence. Rather than being cowed by the display, she returned home and set about building her own fortified city. Other chieftains eventually caught on to the fact that this was probably a good idea, and so for the next several centuries everyone built cities, or at least as much of a fortified mountain as they could afford. Then, some lucky fellow found, living in the top of his castle, a nest of ornyxes. These are basically pterodactyls with feathers. Nobody knows where these were first domesticated- At least, I don't. Language Lots of ng, h, z, o, n, k, a, nd. -ka or -ke is a male name, -gwa is a female name. Tak- chieftain Toruk- great chieftain, emperor Alternately, shriek like a demon when you're sprinting into battle. Today The Thyrendi continue an unceasing vigilance on the Frontier of the Coalition, against the Sarthîm barbarians. Raids are common for both sides. Despite this unstable state of affairs, Thyrendi merchants continue to cross back and forth, serving as vital intermediaries for the Coalition's markets and whatever goes on in the Lost Realms. The King of Thyrenda is vaguely aware that there is some uppity barbarian power on the other side of the Coalition, and has sent some of his warriors eager to prove themselves to help against them. Otherwise, Thyrenda is little involved in the war against Earth. See also *Partner races Category:Coalition of Planets Category:Unfinished